What Happened In The MassTorts World Last Week? 2019-Nov-25
J&J’s Opioid Lawsuit Order Reduced By $107M
On Friday, November 15, 2019, Judge Thad Balkman revised the amount of the fine ordered for Johnson & Johnson (J&J) from $572 million to $465 million.
Judge Balkman, in his decision, admitted that he previously miscalculated how much it would cost to develop a program for treating opioid-addicted babies. He also denied the defendant's request to further reduce the amount, additionally claiming that he would not revisit the settlement in the future or order additional payments requested by the state.
Opioid overdoses killed 4,653 people in the state from 2007 to 2017, according to Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter. Attorneys of the state claimed that controlling the effects of the opioid crisis in Oklahoma will cost between $12.6 billion for 20 years and $17.5 billion over 30 years.
Opioid lawsuits are consolidated under MDL No. 2804 (In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation), presided by U.S. District Judge Dan Polster.
Hernia Mesh Lawsuit: Court Outlines Trial Schedule
The U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus has outlined the process for selecting cases to go to trial for several pending Bard hernia mesh cases.
According to the case management order issued earlier this month, the cases will guide the parties on how juries will respond to certain evidence that will be repeated throughout. Six cases designed to be representative of allegations went through pretrial discovery, which included three claims initially selected by each side.
On January 3, 2020, both the parties will file their respective briefs. By January 8, each side will be allowed to file a response to the other side’s proposed cases, which will be followed by an in-person status conference on January 10 for final selections and trial schedules. In case of dismissal of the three cases, replacement cases by either party will be selected. Following the selection, the parties must file any dispositive motions and Daubert challenges by January 17, 2020, with oral arguments to be scheduled at a later date.
Trials will begin on the following dates for the selected cases:
May 11, 2020
July 13, 2020
September 14, 2020
The selected cases will decide the fate of the remaining lawsuits. More than 3,500 Bard hernia mesh claims are consolidated under federal multidistrict litigation (MDL No. 2846; In Re: Davol, Inc./C.R. Bard, Inc., Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation) in the Southern District of Ohio, presided by Honorable Edmund A. Sargus, Jr., and Honorable Kimberly A. Jolson.
Monroe County Jury Awards $8M To Mesothelioma Victim
A Monroe County jury awarded $8 million to a 75-year-old mesothelioma victim on November 15, 2019.
According to the court document, the plaintiff alleged that he was diagnosed with mesothelioma in August 2018 due to the exposure to asbestos while working for home remodeling work from 1963 to 1966, also from work for Keene Insulation in 1967 and Eastman Kodak from 1967 to 1979.
During the verdict, only one defendant, a construction contractor, was present who was found 80 percent responsible for the total verdict whereas, the remaining 20 percent was from other bankrupt entities. The plaintiff received $2.5 million in past pain and suffering, $3 million in future pain and suffering (for an estimated 18 months), $2 million for loss of services and society (for an estimated 18 months), and $500,000 for loss of consortium.
J&J Broke Into A Sprint To Test Talcum Powder After Recall
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) announced that they did not find any marks of contamination in their talcum powder during an independent testing done just 11 days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning.
The Pennsylvania laboratory where the tests were conducted discovered some amounts of asbestos in several baby powder samples, which was considered useless as the air conditioner at the lab was found to be contaminated. The follow-up tests conducted at the lab did not show any trace of asbestos.
Last month, J&J announced a voluntary recall of a single batch of its baby powder after receiving a warning from the FDA. The recall, applied to lot #22318RB, affected 33,000 bottles of talcum powder.
Nearly 14,000 Talcum Powder and Shower-to-Shower lawsuits are consolidated under multidistrict litigation MDL No. 2738; In Re: Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Products Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation. Lawsuits are also pending in a coordinated California proceeding under Judicial Council Coordinated Proceeding No. 4877.
Opioid Lawsuit: Judge Permits Purdue To Pay States' Costs
On Tuesday, Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain approved OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma's request to reimburse millions of dollars in legal fees for states, along with a condition that the manufacturer will help victims of the opioid crisis.
During the hearing, Purdue told the judge that payment to seven firms that work on behalf of states and local governments would help in structuring and resolving the Chapter 11 case. The judge said that he wanted reimbursement for four law firms, a financial adviser, and two economic consultants, following which the parties should release emergency funds for victims.
Last month the manufacturers proposed a $200 million emergency fund to be spent on addiction treatment while they resolve the entire bankruptcy case, which will take months.
Purdue filed for bankruptcy on September 15, as a part of the settlement proposal with 24 states, which includes an amount valued between $10 billion to $12 billion. As a part of the proposal, the Sacklers have also agreed to contribute around $3 billion for the settlement from the sale of an overseas drug company it owns and surrender the control of their firm.
Opioid Lawsuit: MDL Judge Maps Out New Trials
On Tuesday, the Ohio federal judge Dan Aaron Polster, guiding multidistrict opioid litigation, targeted several cases as good candidates for future bellwether trials.
According to a five-page order published, Judge Polster said that he would be presiding over a month-long trial that will begin on October 13, 2020. The trial includes the northern Ohio counties of Cuyahoga and Summit, as the plaintiffs and five groups of pharmacy companies, including CVS Health Corp., Rite Aid Corp., and Walgreen Co. as the defendants. The pharmacy companies censured the idea of involving the Ohio counties, as they had already enclosed roughly $325 million through settlements with drug manufacturers and distributors. The companies also objected to letting the counties extend their existing allegations of improper distribution by pharmacies with allegations of improper dispensing, which was hindered by Judge Polster.
Judge Polster also recommended the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to remand three sets of cases for bellwether trials. The cases would test the city of Chicago's allegations against opioid manufacturers in Illinois federal court; the city and county of San Francisco's allegations against manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies in California federal court; and the Cherokee Nation tribe's case against distributors and pharmacies in Oklahoma federal court.
The cases, involving plaintiffs Florida's West Boca Medical Center; a proposed class of infants whose mothers used opioids while pregnant; and a union benefit plan called Cleveland Bakers & Teamsters Health & Welfare Fund, that would test the ability of different types of plaintiffs, were also selected on Tuesday.
Opioid lawsuits consolidated under MDL No. 2804 (In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation), presided by U.S. District Judge Dan Polster.
TVM Lawsuit: Australian Women Wins Big Against J&J
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) lost a landmark case against Australian women who suffered debilitating pain because of their defective transvaginal mesh devices.
The three Australian women won the case on behalf of the 1350 women who had mesh and tape products of J&J implanted to treat pelvic prolapse or stress urinary incontinence. The devices resulted in making women suffer from severe debilitating and chronic pain along with psychological effects on them, as per the lawsuit filed.
The Federal Court in Sydney found two J&J group manufacturers and its Australian supplier involved deceptive tactics and hiding the risks associated with the implants.
Around four million women have vaginal mesh implants, and more than 150,000 developed complications associated with it. There are in all 7 MDLs to handle Transvaginal Mesh Litigations, which are being overseen by U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin.
Dismissed Untimely Risperdal Lawsuits Revived
The trial court and the state’s Superior Court's failure in establishing a statute of limitations that resulted in the dismissal of thousands of Risperdal lawsuits have led to a renewal of the cases by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
The statute of limitations disputes traces back to when the trial court judge granted the defendants, Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen, summary judgment in two Risperdal lawsuits, after finding that the deadline for filing such cases expired two years after June 2009. The plaintiffs involved in these cases appealed to the Pennsylvania Superior Court, which moved the deadline back to two years after October 31, 2006, the date when the Risperdal label was revised to state that gynecomastia, or excessive male breast growth, occurred in 2.3% of those consuming the drug.
The Superior Court decision led to the dismissal of thousands of cases. The plaintiff then moved to the state’s highest court, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, where the court in a 6-1 decision overturned the Superior Court's ruling and left the statute of limitations questions for juries to decide.
The decision has affected about 40% of the more than 7,000 lawsuits that are pending in a mass tort litigation underway in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Two coordinated actions are filed for Risperdal cases: one in Los Angeles Superior Court (Risperdal and Invega Product Liability Cases, JCCP 4775, presided by Honorable William Highberger) and the other in Philadelphia (In Re: Risperdal Litigation, March 2010 Term, Case No. 100300296).